Sitting Outside

It was a pretty day, and I enjoyed the opportunity to sit outside in the sun this afternoon.  But it turned out not so good.  The longer I sat outside, the more congested I became, and the more I sneezed. So I finally had to go in.  The nasal congestion cleared up quickly, but the swelling around my eyes and the itching of my eyes will not go away so quickly. It generally carries over till the next day.

This is West Texas.  The spring pollen count is high, and this is common for this time of year.  And I am hyper-sensitive to pollen:  I can be in one area and become congested, sneeze, have watery and itchy eyes.  I can move 5 or 10 feet, and everything clears up.  But the residual effect is still there.

There is Something in the Air

So, after some rains earlier in the summer, it turned very, very dry.  Now, the last week or less has had some humidity with slight chances of rain. We have even had some sprinkles. This is the condition that leads people to complain of congestion and possible allergies.  The amount of rain does nothing more than stir up the dust.  It may help the plants but not much.

I have slept with my windows open a couple of nights, or sat out late reading a couple of nights.  I have had some nasal congestion, but mostly, I notice my eyes look puffy, like I have been crying (I have not.)  My eyes even feel like I have been crying. This is frustrating, because my eyes feel gritty, dry and hot.  Normal saline eye drops do not help. I found my Similasan http://www.similasanusa.com/ eye drops in my little 3-1-1 bag from when I flew in June.  I was referred to Similasan by an optometrist.  That helps better than regular saline solution.  I just forget to get them out.

I know I do all the wrong things for my eyes:  I spend too much time on the computer. I read in dim light. And, I can feel the irritation to my eyes when I am at the pool.  But that is life. I try to do better.  But I do not. 

I Sneeze Like My Father

My father was a big sneezer.  By that I mean that he was a loud, powerful, physical sneezer.  I never much thought about it but in the last few years, I have become a sneezer like my father.  I suspect that when he went into his sneezing fits, there was something in the environment that stimulated him to sneeze. And he did so, until something changed. Sometimes, that meant he finally blew his nose. But not always.

I learned, years ago, walking in the park with Mack, my beloved dog, and my dear friend and her dog, that I was very sensitive to some things, but I could not identify what those some things were. My friend remarked more than once, that if she did not see it herself, she would not believe it.  It was not something I had much noticed until my friend commented on it. 

My friend noticed that I was very sensitive to certain environmental stimulants.  We could stop at a place in the park as we walked our dogs and relaxed, and I would immediately become congested and sneeze. We would move as little as 10 or 15 feet, and I would immediately start to clear up. The weird part of this, is that the same parts of the park affected me differently on different days.  Even within days of each other. Which made no sense.

I have sneezing episodes in my office at work. This did not happen until I moved into this particular office.  Some days, I will have terrible sneezing episodes.  Blowing my nose sometimes helps, but not always

Sometimes, I also have sneezing fits at home. Sometimes blowing my nose helps, sometimes it does not.

I am not horribly  distressed by these sneezing fits, except sometimes at work. I recognize that a sneeze is the body's way of getting rid of some sort of irritant. A sneeze is a healthy bodily reaction to irritants.  But sometimes, I get tired of sneezing. 

I know that my father also used to get tired of sneezing.

It Is a Beautiful Day

Today is a beautiful day, weather wise. The sun has been shining, and until just recently the sky has been a clear azure blue expanse.  Now, some thin clouds are moving in. The temperatures are in the high 40s or low 50s. But it has been windy, and the wind makes the air temperature feel colder. 

The problem for me is the wind.  It takes my breath away.  And worse.  The last two dust events we have had have resulted in my having bronchial problems. I am sensitive to allergens and bronchial pollutants, and have been, only mildly, since before moving to West Texas, but this has been exacerbated over the years I have lived in West Texas.

I am so sensitive that I can be in one part of a room, building or even public park, and become very congested, but moving can almost immediately result in the congestion being relieved.  I never know when this will occur. And, it is frustrating for me, because I do not know what will precipitate the problem.

I just know that when the wind is blowing, if I do not need to get out in it, I should stay inside. So, I have.

Allergies

I did not have noticeable allergies before I moved to West Texas.  When I moved to Lubbock, I was told that I would probably develop allergies because of the large amount of allergens in the dust in the area.  And, it happened.  After about 7 or 8 years, I started having allergies. Not bad, but sneezing, hacking and congestion at various times throughout the year.

There was a time when I had a horrible allergic reaction in my kitchen.  I finally went through stuff, and found, tucked in the back of the refrigerator, a plastic storage container, with black eyed peas in it, molded.  I realized that I was probably having a reaction to the mold. I now know that I do have a reaction to mold.

When Mack was alive, and we walked at Clapp Park daily, I noticed something about my allergies.  This sounds incredible, but I was walking with a friend at that time, and she can attest to this:  I was very sensitive to allergens. We might be in a part of the park, and I would become very congested. We could move even just ten or fifteen feet and I would immediately clear up.

This sensitivity has continued through the years. I am reminded of it tonight, because I am having a sneezing fit.  It is cool enough to have the windows open, so I am thinking that since there have been some recent rains, there is something outside that is affecting my allergic responses.

Allergies

When I lived in Western Massachusetts, I never noticed that I had allergies to air borne pollens. I did have violent reactions to poison ivy, sumac, and other substances that I do not even know what they were.

I lived in Lubbock, Texas for about seven or eight years before I started having allergic reactions to varous air borne irritants.  I do not know what they are specifically, but they do bother me, especially in the fall.

Most interesting, though, was when a good friend and I walked our dogs in a city park.  There were places in the park, at various times of the year, that if we tarried, produce in me a very pronounced allergic reaction: sneezing and mucous congestion.  Yet, if we moved just a few feet, the congestion would clear up immediately.  Very interesting.

The Evening Air

The evening air was beautiful tonight: there was a breeze, but not too strong, and the temperature was pleasant.  I was able to sit outside for some time, before the Yankee vs. Detroit game was on TV. I did some yard work, I read the newspaper, I read the novel I am currently reading.

The air was great.  But, I sneezed.  And sneezed. And sneezed. There was obviously something in the air that was affecting me.  When I moved inside to watch the Yankee game, the sneezing stopped. 

Are you the sensitive?